Yoga on Rest Days.... Good idea?

[Shawn Michels]

I searched the threads but couldn't find the answer I was looking for.

I am usually extremely tight / sore on rest days and am looking for a solution to increase my flexiblity (something I have issues with),vrelieve soreness and aid in recovery WITHOUT overdoing it on rest days.

I was thinking about doing some Yoga as I have read it helps with flexibility and is general a relaxing workout. That said I have little to no experience with Yoga so I don't know if that would be considered "overdoing it"

Any thoughts on using yoga on rest days or any other suggestions on how to add flexiblity, reduce soreness and not over train on rest days would be greatly appreciated.

[Jamie J. Skibicki]

Depends on the type and focus of the yoga practice. Intense yoga would be a bad idea. SOmething more relaxing would work.

[Katherine Derbyshire]

Yoga is good stuff. As Jamie said, pick a style that focuses on relaxation: avoid "power yoga" and all its permutations.

With that said, if you're consistently crippled on rest days you might also look at other parts of your routine. Are you warming up/cooling down properly? Eating right and enough? Drinking enough water? Scaling appropriately?

Katherine

[Ron White]

I'm really starting to think that I need this as well.

[Rachel Y. B. Lindsay]

I do Ashtanga on my rest days: pretty intense stuff. It helps resolve soreness for me. I love it.

[Shawn Michels]

Originally Posted by Katherine Derbyshire

Yoga is good stuff. As Jamie said, pick a style that focuses on relaxation: avoid "power yoga" and all its permutations.

With that said, if you're consistently crippled on rest days you might also look at other parts of your routine. Are you warming up/cooling down properly? Eating right and enough? Drinking enough water? Scaling appropriately?

Katherine

Jamie and Katherine,

Thanks for the advice. I was definetly thinking of doing something more relaxing.

Katherine to answer your questions:

Are you warming up/cooling down properly? Warming up, yes. cooling down... not so much. In fact I pretty much just lay on the floor until I can breath again and then head home.

Eating right and enough? Enough... yes... one would probably say too much... but not the right foods. That is something I am trying to remedy.

Drinking enough water? I think so... several liters a day

Scaling appropriately? I think so... Follow brand x on most "new" workouts. I only go for RX'd if I have done the WOD scaled before and I think I have it in me that day.

So... I could definetly improve my diet and probably should try to cool down a bit better. I will probably still do Yoga. Not as a lone cure to my problems but to get some flexibility work in.

[Katherine Derbyshire]

I've found that cool down stretching helps enormously with both soreness and flexibility. Definitely worth the few minutes it takes to do.

Katherine

[Sean Reyes]

What does your immediate post workout look like? Do you hop on the c2 for a few minutes? Easy jog on the treadmill?

How long are you stretching for afterwards (especially the day before a rest day)?

Proper cool down, and adequate stretching has left me feeling like i shouldn't be taking rest days...on my rest days (good).

[Paul Epstein]

have been training weightlifting exclusively (5x a week) and combined with 80min cycle commute every day have been getting pretty sore and tight legs

did first night of ashtanga last night. was good, did some great calf and hammy stretches. was alot more intense on shoulders than i expected.

am going to do it once a week. felt alot better this morning.

[Darrell E. White]

I'm a fan of yoga, for me in its less intense varieties, but I think that's personal preference. I find that movement of some sort on Rest Day enhances my recovery. I try to fit in T'ai chi or some Bagua forms as well.

--bingo